2013-02-07

Hungarian made Rába 38M "Botond" Truck

One of the highest priorities of the Hungarian
Army after the First World War was the mechanisation of it forces.
Despite the best intentions financial considerations proved the biggest
hurdle in achieving this aim.

From 1928 to 1944 the
Hungarian army used no less than 160 different models and makes of cars
and trucks, but despite this Magyar Vagon és Gépgyár (Rába) emerged as
the biggest supplier of trucks to the Honvéd.

Rába supplied a number of different trucks to the Honvéd, mostly based on commercial designs.

In 1936 Dezsö Winkler
started design work on a specialised cross-country truck that could
fulfil the roles of a weapons prime mover and a mechanised infantry
transport. This new truck was named the Botond and featured
two rear driving axles on independent coil spring and balancing beam
suspension allowing it to cross the most difficult terrain.

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Tűzkereszt - History

Tűzkereszt is the Hungarian word for "Fire Cross". This was the Hungarian military medal, awarded for front-line combat service between 1941-43. The medal was founded by the regent of the Kingdom of Hungary, admiral Miklós Horthy 24. November 1941. The Tűzkereszt could be awarded in III classes and also posthumous to the families of fallen soldiers.

The web-page is an on-line collection of historical militaria and photographs. Mostly from My personal collection but also from collector-friends and museums. This page focuses on mainly Hungarian WW2 and WW1 Austro-Hungarian militaria. This is a constantly developing and "living" page for the sake of promoting the interest and preservation of the Hungarian military history.

I'll try to answer most questions I get from readers from all over the world. I may not have all answers, but I always try to get the most from my contacts and other resources to help in the right direction for further research.